She tries to hide it, but I see it—the truth lingering just beneath the surface.
She’s not just afraid of my power.
She’s afraid of me.
Afraid of how much she wants me.
Afraid of what it means.
I don’t give her time to think.
I let my magic slip between us, a tendril of water slithering along her thigh, teasing beneath the folds of her robe, a cool contrast to the heat radiating from her.
She shudders.
Fucking hell.
I revel in it.
Her breathing turns sharp, uneven, and I watch as her control frays, watch the tension coil in her shoulders, in the delicate clench of her jaw.
I lean in, pressing my lips against her jawline, trailing slow, teasing kisses down the curve of her throat, feeling her magic coil beneath her skin, struggling for control.
She trembles.
My tongue flicks out, tracing the hollow of her collarbone.
"Do you want me to stop?" I murmur, voice dark, taunting, lips grazing the swell of her chest.
A sharp inhale.
Her nails bite into my arms, a snarl curling at the edges of her breath.
Then—
Heat.
A burning grip on my hip, the crash of her mouth against mine.
She devours me, all teeth and fire and rage.
I moan into her, my fingers threading into the wild lengths of her hair as my tentacles explore, teasing beneath the silk of her robe, curling against the soft heat between her thighs.
She gasps, her back arching.
I take advantage.
My tongue flicks over the peak of her breast, teasing, testing, before I close my lips around it, sucking just enough to feel the sharp inhale of her breath, the way her fingers tighten around my shoulders, like she’s losing herself to this.
To me.
Her magic flares in response, wild and furious, licking at my skin like flame, but I do not pull away.
I want the burn.
I want the sting.
I wanther.